THURSDAY OF WEEK 31 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord. MT 11:28

ROMANS 14:7-12

My Soul's Beloved, 

Thank You for convicting me now by the power of Your Word. It is easy to judge those who are ungodly, who ruin lives, and bring destruction with them to anything they touch on every level. From the pain that they have systematically inflicted on precious lives, one hits back with anger, hatred, and condemnation.  But today we are called to respond as You do, for You are the Christ who died for all. No one is outside the power of Your readiness and willingness to forgive, no matter how grave the sins committed.

You alone, the Alpha and Omega, see all, know all, and have been appointed by God as the only judge, for You are holy, righteous, and have complete knowledge. The wise and prudent thing for us all to do, my Lord, is to vacate the judgment seat which we have usurped and return it to the One that God has appointed to judge both sinners and saints.

It is a hard lesson, Lord, for we feel justified and lash out because of the grave hurt they have inflicted on those we love, yet, this is what You ask, and with Your help, this is what I must do. Please provide all the grace I need to surrender those whom I wish You would punish to the maximum extent of the law and to forgive completely, without any reservations and wholeheartedly. Releasing them to You and from my anger and setting myself free to listen to You and obey You for You will judge me just as severely as I judge others or as lightly as I judge them.

The life and death of each of us has its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord. This explains why Christ both died and came to life: it was so that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. This is also why you should never pass judgement on a brother or treat him with contempt, as some of you have done. We shall all have to stand before the judgement seat of God; as scripture says: By my life – it is the Lord who speaks – every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall praise God. It is to God, therefore, that each of us must give an account of himself.

PSALM 26(27):1,4,13-14

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.

The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?

There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.

LUKE 15:1-10

My Soul's Beloved, 

You are the Son of God, true, but You also are the Son of Man and have been tempted as all of us in human flesh are tempted. This is why, Lord, sinners, even the greatest sinner of all, find in You a God of mercy, pity, and tender compassion, for You know our weaknesses.

We all have sinned, Beloved, and have fallen short of the glory of God, and yet so many of us are hypocrites like the Pharisees. We want You to show us mercy, but not to those whom we condemn because we consider them to be greater sinners than we are. It is so comforting to know, Lord, that You came for me, a sinner who fails and falls constantly. Thank You for becoming like us so You can understand our human frailty. Help me to withhold all judgment from others so mercy will be shown to me.

The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:
‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance.
‘Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found it? And then, when she had found it, call together her friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” she would say “I have found the drachma I lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.’